Alabamians with drug convictions now eligible for food stamps, other benefits

Tens of thousands of Alabamians with past drug convictions are now eligible for food stamps and other assistance benefits.

Starting this month, Alabama residents who have been denied federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called food stamps, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, because of felony drug convictions can reapply for the benefits. Applicants still must meet other eligibility requirements.

"The end of Alabama's SNAP and TANF ban is good news for state budgets and for families," said Carol Gundlach, a policy analyst for ARISE Citizens Policy Project. "The policy change will help cut corrections cost in the cash-strapped General Fund budget by making it easier for released prisoners to reintegrate into the community, which will help reduce recidivism."

Under a 1996 federal law, people with felony convictions for drug offenses were given a lifetime ban from receiving food stamps and TANF. The restrictions didn't extend to other convicted felons and many states took advantage of a provision that allowed them to exempt some from the mandate. Alabama's ban was lifted as part of the comprehensive prison reform bill passed in the last legislative session.

It's not clear exactly how many people will be affected by the change. Alabama Arise said that in 2011, 11,000 people throughout the state were incarcerated for drug offenses. About 3,700 were released that same year but it's not known how many of those would have been eligible to apply for welfare benefits.

Women have been particularly hard hit by the ban.

In a 2011 report, The Sentencing Project estimated as many as 9.500 women alone had been affected by the TANF restrictions from 1996 to 2011. The study showed as many as 86 percent of adult TANF recipients were women; woman are also about twice as likely as men to receive food stamp benefits at some point in their lives.

To receive assistance, applicants must have completed their sentences or be in compliance with any probation requirements. Also, TANF applicants that had a drug conviction in the last five years may be required to pass a drug test to receive their benefits. Federal law does not permit the testing of SNAP recipients.